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Airmiles revamps loyalty scheme

Published: 10/01/2008 - Filed under: News »

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Airmiles has made significant changes to its airline loyalty scheme, including introducing redemption values which include airport taxes and charges.

The BA-owned scheme now advertises all-inclusive fares, meaning members can use miles to pay for the entire cost of a ticket – previously Airmiles covered just the net price of the flight (as is the case with most airline loyalty schemes), with taxes and charges being paid in cash.

Of course as a result redemption values have increased to include the extra costs, although Airmiles says that the new fares represent “strong value”. As an example, Airmiles quotes a redemption requirement of 1,200 miles plus £62 in taxes and charges for a return flight from Heathrow to Prague under the old scheme, as opposed to 1,500 miles all-inclusive under the revamped programme.

In addition, Airmiles has sought to simplify redemption requirements by creating seven new “zones”, each of which has a single miles value. For example, Amsterdam and Paris both fall into Zone 1 (750 miles), Barcelona and Rome into Zone 2 (1,500 miles), Dubrovnik and Athens into Zone 3 (2,500 miles), Dubai and New York into Zone 4 (5,000 miles), Hong Kong and Chicago into Zone 5 (6,500 miles), Tokyo and LA into Zone 6 (8,000 miles), and Sydney and Buenos Aires into Zone 7 (10,000 miles).

To celebrate the new zones system, Airmiles is offering 1,500 miles to members who apply for the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo account (a joint Mastercard and Amex credit card scheme) before April 30, 2008 and book one night’s accommodation through Airmiles.

For more information visit airmiles.co.uk.

Report by Mark Caswell

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